Thoughts on Creating a New Version

I thought it might be interesting to give you a small amount of detail into what goes into a creating a new version of Intellect or Time & Chaos. Unlike other software companies, we do not release a new version of our software based on the year or simply because it feel like it’s time our users paid for the program again. Rather we have a list of changes we would like to make in any certain release. If those changes can’t be made to the current version, they become long term changes that we would like to add if we completely rewrite the program in the future. If that long term list gets long enough, it starts to feel like a completely new release is the best course of action.

What we implement is based first on how we use the software on a daily basis and second based on how we hear the software being used. There are no favorites when recreating software from the ground up. Every feature or function is evaluated. Is this feature used by most people? Is this feature intuitive? Does a change make the program more confusing or less confusing, more functional or less?

Skip ahead through the months of development and testing and we will usually have a version that is almost ready for public consumption. This is a bit like the “not ready for prime time players” of old Saturday Night Live. Finally releasing this to your eager hands is a bit like crossing a minefield to move into a new house. Yes, we are going to run into snags along the way but with time and patience, all snags can be traversed and the destination can be welcoming.

Of course, once you move in, it’s time to start redecorating. The same is true with our software. We almost never see a release as a finished product. There is always room for growth and change.